Rusal shares slumped to a one-month low yesterday as investors bet that the company is set to lose a key battle in the feud between the aluminium giant's chairman, Oleg Deripaska, and rival oligarch Vladimir Potanin for control of Norilsk Nickel.
Shareholders of the nickel miner met yesterday in Moscow to vote on a Rusal resolution to remove Norilsk's board of directors, led by chairman Vasily Titov, an executive at Russian bank VTB.
While a Norilsk spokeswoman said the results were not expected until next week, Dimitry Smolin, an analyst with Russian bank Uralsib, said: 'We think Potanin, together with the management, will retain control.'
Rusal shares slumped 4.5 per cent to HK$11.82 ahead of the extraordinary general meeting, which began at 3pm Moscow time.
This week, Potanin told Russian media he raised his stake in the nickel miner to 30 per cent from 25 per cent. That took his ownership of Norilsk above Rusal's 25 per cent.
Potanin has consistently attempted to buy Rusal out of Norilsk since Deripaska first invested in the nickel miner in 2008, but without success.
In February, Norilsk offered to buy 20 per cent of the company back from Rusal for US$12.8 billion, and was also turned down.
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